GC: Hello everyone! We are here for another videocast. Once again, Master Gualberto has accepted our invitation to be here. Gratitude, Master, for this meeting. Guys, today I'm going to bring an excerpt from Joel Goldsmith's book called “Arrows on the Infinite Way,” and, in that book, Master, Joel quotes the following: “The human mind is always offended by the Truth, because it is contrary to everything it knows. Imagine the affront to a man proud of his intellectual knowledge, when it is said that all his mental dynamism will not benefit him as much as a single moment of Silence would do.” On this topic, Master, about this “mental silence” ... How to achieve this mental silence, how to quiet the mind? Can you talk a little bit about it?
MG: The point is always… We have to start from a true position about this. First, our questions, Gilson, are formulated from our experiences, but we do not investigate our experiences. So, our questions are based on the common experience of this common human mind. So, it is natural that these questions do not have a very precise formulation for a perfectly complete answer. How to achieve silence? How to achieve this silence of the mind? We need to first understand how the mind works, that is the way. So, we will know how to ask a question related to this subject, with probity. The question is: how does the mind work?
If we understand how the mind works, we will understand how we function to deal with it, to deal with that mind. So, let's go: what is basically the functioning of the mind? A process of thoughts occurring, happening. And what are these thoughts? These thoughts are memories, they are remembrances. So, all the thoughts in us, being processed, are thoughts that have as their principle remembrances, recollections, and past images. So, when we talk about restlessness of the mind or this model of thought that runs uncontrolled within each one of us, we are talking about this process of thought, of memory, that has not been observed, that has not been verified.
The science of “silence of the mind” is not about quieting the mind through practice, a technique, or a system. In general, when we ask how to quiet the mind, how to silence the mind, we are looking for a technique, a system, a practice, and here it is about bringing Consciousness to this moment. [Bringing] Consciousness to this moment makes you aware of this movement of restlessness, which is sustained by this unconsciousness. Bringing Consciousness to this moment is observing the movement of the mind. Observing the movement of the mind is becoming aware of this model of the present “I,” which is this thinker that sustains itself – the ego, which is this thinker, which is the “I” ... sustains itself exactly in this unconsciousness of maintaining the movement of thoughts, which occurs unconsciously.
So, here we touch on the issue of Meditation. Meditation is becoming aware of this movement of the mind, so that this movement finds the necessary order for itself. So, the process of restlessness in us, this model of mental chatter, which is also verbalized in our relationships with people – at all times we are verbalizing and saying things based on this internal chatter – all of this takes place in this unconsciousness. Bringing Consciousness to this movement of thought is the basis for this Silence. Then, the mind goes through an entirely new and unknown process, which is this process of Silence.
I call this Real Stillness, because it is not a stillness that you impose on the mind through effort, through will, through self-discipline, through a technique, through a practice. We spend a good part of our lives, and, in general, most people, Gilson, spend a whole life without awareness of how chatty they are internally and completely unaware that this is a psychological life model of great waste of energy, producing a lot of conflict, a lot of contradiction, and a lot of suffering for themselves. All of this is due to the lack of this vision of oneself, of knowing oneself, of understanding this internal movement of how the mind works. So, the absence of this vision is the absence of Meditation.
So, our emphasis is on working on ourselves, so that this Truth of That which is beyond this common mind, of how we work within this pattern, disappears, because this is the continuity of the “I,” the continuity of the ego, it is the continuity of this “thinker” in us, which is this movement of unconsciousness, which is this movement of remembrances and memories. To observe the movement of the mind is to become aware of the confusion in which, psychologically, we find ourselves, and that is the end of this thing. Only the awareness of this gives you the possibility of leaving this pattern, of leaving this model, of going beyond this mind, which is the mind of the “I,” which is the egoic mind.
GC: Master, within this topic of meditation, could you talk a little more about this Real Meditation? Because, within Joel Goldsmith's writings, Joel talks about a contemplative life, but he also talks about a practice of meditation, and to me, for example, this matter of practice was very strong. So, there were specific times when I did my meditation: early in the morning, in the morning, at night… And when I didn't… when I couldn't, for example, wake up early to do my meditation… wow! It was a kind of lost day! A process of guilt came and it kept demanding me, or, many times – I have children – I was in that rush, and the children, the wife… and, after a while, I spoke like that… even my wife jokes that I spoke like that: “Ah, the father has to meditate.” Then I would leave the chaos there with the children and go to my little room, lock myself in the little room, then sit down to try to find some stillness. And you, Master, bring a very different, very real vision of this. Can you talk a little more about it, Master?
MG: Meditation, Gilson, is not something you set out to do. So, here we are already faced with a mistake, because who is this person who decides to do this? So, perhaps our approach here is a slightly different approach. Looking at this moment, looking at this movement, which is the movement of the “I,” which is the movement of the ego, without “placing the thinker,” which is the one who manages or believes he manages the thought, is the basis for Meditation. This is not something that you can do based on a will, a volition, a desire, a determination, with you being the own thinker, the “I” itself.
So, in reality, we are faced here with something that challenges us to give, at this moment, Attention that is only present when the “thinker” is not there, when the “I” is not there. So, it's not something you can decide to do, choose to do and determine times to do. It is now, here, that thought is present, so it is now, here, the moment of the awareness of this movement, which is the movement of thought. The awareness of this movement requires attention to this movement, which will naturally dispense with the very element that is producing this, which is the “thinker.” So, it is a delicate subject, it is a subject that requires a new approach.
What people do in the name of meditation is not Real Meditation. Real Meditation, True Meditation, is the awareness of the movement of thought, which, in this awareness, the element, which is the “thinker,” is absent. When this element, which is the “thinker,” is absent, this model of continuity of thought is broken. That's when thought really disappears. This is awareness of That which is beyond the egoic mind, beyond this model of restless thinking and, naturally, beyond this “thinker,” beyond the “I.” So, the “I,” the “person,” the ego, the “thinker,” has nothing to do with Meditation. The presence of the “thinker,” the “I,” the ego… In fact, the presence of the “meditator” is the absence of Meditation.
Understand this clearly: looking at this movement, which is the movement of thought, without someone who is ready to look, who is ready to direct the thought, who wants to do something with thought – that is Meditation. So, the only thing present in the Truth of Meditation is not a technique, it is not a practice, it is not a system, but it is the awareness that this movement is happening here and now, and this awareness is possible when there is Attention, Attention without choice, without direction, without redirection to that thought; and this is something here, right now. Detail, Gilson: it’s moment by moment! It's this instant! There is no other time other than this moment for this to be verified.
So, it's not about withdrawing and doing a practice, because... what about outside of that moment? What are we doing with a practice? We adapt, mechanically, to a model where the brain itself begins to quiet down due to a technique, but it quiets down and, soon after the practice, it returns to its routine. So, this is not Real Meditation.
We need to discover the art of being this Consciousness. This is now, this is here! So, what makes this possible is this Attention, the Truth of this Real Attention about ourselves, now, about ourselves, in a true way, about this whole process of thinking, feeling, and acting. So, Meditation encompasses not only observing thought, but observing your gestures, your speech, everything that occurs. Bringing awareness to this moment is Meditation. It's not the body still, the eyes closed... It's the awareness of life as it occurs in this moment.
GC: Master, indeed, no matter how much one practices this meditation practice, incompleteness always remains. So, it is something that, really, is like the Master already commented: a dog chasing its tail, because it is within the “I” itself, the ego itself. It works a lot, Master – I see that it did for me –, as an escape, because I was there in the middle of the conflict, the children screaming, a riot… I escaped to the little room. Then, I would be silent, then I would be more relaxed... But it's not something real, it was what my mind produced. And even within this aspect, Master, we have a question here from a channel subscriber, @danilocesar3961. He asks the following: “We are the silence we achieve in meditation, aren’t we? The question is: how can we remain in this state of silence?”
MG: So, notice the question. He says, “Are we not the silence we attain?” This is where we are faced with an illusion, Gilson. When you practice meditation, you encounter silence. And then he asks: “Aren’t we already that silence?” See, this silence is exactly the silence that occurs due to a technique, a practice, but you cannot remain in that silence as you wish, and the greatest proof of this is that when you leave this so-called “meditation practice,” where is this silence? So, the awareness of Truth is the revelation of Silence; not that silence that we achieve, but the Silence that reveals itself when the “I” is not there, when the ego is not there, and this is only possible when there is this awareness of the movement of the “I,” of the ego.
So, Gilson, without understanding the movement of the “I” itself, there is no Real Meditation. This is the point! Becoming aware of your own movement of anger, fear, envy, jealousy, worries, anxiety, whatever is arising here, right now, this is the real approach to Meditation, because this is Self-Awareness. If you take a moment to close your eyes and become still, I will repeat: the brain becomes still, and when it becomes still, a space opens up: it is the space of silence, but it is a silence forged by a technical stillness, by a stillness practice. I have called this self-hypnosis. This is a way for you to de-stress, relax... However, this is not an approach to the Truth of Meditation, because the Truth of Meditation is present when there is Self-Awareness.
This explains, Gilson, why some people have been meditating for thirty years, but are still angry, anxious, worried, full of fear, jealous, greedy... In short, the sense of “I” is still present, despite thirty years of practice of meditation, because this so-called “meditation practice” is not the Truth of Meditation, because there is no Self-Awareness. If you don’t clear the ground – and clearing the ground means becoming aware of how this “I” moves internally and how it expresses itself externally as well, in our relationships; this is Self-Awareness – without this foundation, there is no Truth for Meditation. So, you remain a practitioner of meditation, but the “I” is there, the “I” practitioner is there, whereas the Truth of Meditation is the elimination of that “I,” in this instant, here and now, in this moment. This is contact with Meditation.
So, it is impossible for the Truth of your Being to reveal itself without the Truth of Meditation, but the Truth of Meditation is impossible without Self-Awareness. So, that's the point, that's the whole point: without Self-Awareness there is no true Meditation! You have now touched on the issue of taking refuge in meditation. People use meditation as a refuge for themselves. It's as if they were looking for a trench and entered that trench to protect themselves from the incoming fire. You know, the trenches are built for the soldier to get in there and protect themselves from the incoming fire. People also practice meditation, as a technique or a practice, to be inside a trench, also protected from the onslaught of the egoic mind, and they can, temporarily, be protected from fire, but they cannot live inside a trench; they will have to leave. So, Gilson, no one can always keep on escaping.
Meditation is not something we do to escape. People are trying to escape stress, escape from anxiety, escape from fury, anger, fear, jealousy, envy, and suffering. So, some use medication and others use meditation. We do not have, here, the Truth of Liberation from suffering through an escape. Therefore, it is necessary for us to understand what the Truth of Meditation is.
That is why this so-called “spirituality” that goes out there is the spirituality of mystical, esoteric, spiritualist practice, of orisons, prayers and meditations, and, however, the sense of “I,” of the ego, in people, continues intact. It remains intact because there is no real work on oneself, of revealing the study of themselves, for themselves, in this awareness of self-observation and this approach to the Truth of Meditation.
GC: Master, it's funny, as you mentioned, when we enter this trench in the practice of meditation, there is a false sensation of peace or silence, but just by getting out of the trench, all the mental mess, suffering, and anger are present. And the detail, Master – and I want the Master to talk a little bit… For example: for me, as I had been practicing for years… I left the practice, so the mind was always active. But, soon, a stimulus of anger would come. I had an escape mechanism for this anger. Then, the anger would come, I would repress it and, apparently, I was less angry. But it was just a mistake, because the anger was present. And I repressed it and didn't observe it, didn't see it, but ran away from it, “dividing” myself from the experience. So, Master, can you talk a little bit?
MG: That's the problem! See, you have now touched on a point. We are religiously, spiritually, philosophically, and psychologically trained for repression. They do not give us the vision of the Liberation of the “I,” of the ego, of this model of fear, anger, anxiety, envy, and jealousy. The training we receive is to repress, to suppress, to disguise. So, in fact, we still have, Gilson, a model of egoic identity cultivated with this veneer of spirituality, religiosity, philosophical principles, and psychological discipline. This “I,” this ego, is not being observed… If there is no work in oneself of Attention on this very movement of the “I,” there is not the slightest chance of discovering the Truth of this Real Being beyond the ego, beyond the “ I,” which True Meditation reveals. This is what needs to be seen! This is what has to be understood! There is no Truth in illusion, and life in the egoic mind is a life within illusion.
Here, it is about becoming aware of this “I,” which is the element that cultivates principles of self-discipline, of order, for several reasons. So, we have learned, over the years, not to express, not to manifest, not to demonstrate this side of us, which continues to be present, just being repressed. Here, it’s about becoming aware of this side of us, this movement within us. The same movement is what we have been saying here, which was present and still remains present in our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, in everyone who came before us, which is this unconsciousness, which is this pattern of psychological conditioning of this ego. Becoming aware of this is the approach to the Truth, the Revelation of the Truth. This is the end of illusion, this is the end for the “I,” and, naturally, this is the end for this psychological condition of anger, of fear, and suffering, because there is, in this instant, awareness of the Revelation of the Truth of our own Being, of Divine Truth.
GC: Master, about this Divine Truth – and the Master explains that exactly for us to have this approach to this “I,” this illusory “I,” this mental activity… and there is a lot, within spirituality, this search to find this “Higher Self,” to get closer to this “True Self,” to feed this “I Am.”
MG: In general, we theorize a lot about this. Here, we place the Truth of this Divine Reality that we bring, yes, beyond the “I,” beyond the ego, but the difficulty is present when we begin to imagine what This represents. It ends up that we create theories about It, concepts about It, beliefs about It, and then we start making statements, saying things about which we don't know what we're saying, but which we believe so. So, talking about this Being, about this “I Am,” just talking, saying, theorizing about It, doesn't solve it. We need to become aware of what is here. So, the true approach to God is not the approach to an idea about God, about who He is and where He is. The true approach to God is in the awareness of this illusion, which is the illusion of the “I.”
To become aware of this illusion is to put an end to this illusion. That’s when this Real Revelation, which is the Revelation of God, shows itself. So, becoming aware of the illusion of this “I,” this problematic, complicated identity, this separatist false identity in us, egocentric, becoming aware of it, investigating it, looking at it, letting it go, is discovering the Reality of That which is beyond this “I.”
So, people use expressions like “the ‘I Am’,” the internal Christ within us,” but this is theoretical, this is verbal, these are just words. We need to become aware of who we are right now. If it's anger, it's anger; if it is fear, it is fear; anxiety, anguish, sadness… What is present here and now? Looking at this, becoming aware of it, disidentifying with it, getting out of this duality, this separateness, which is this concept of this “I” and this thing in separation, letting go of this duality is what is necessary. When this occurs, the Reality that is already present shows itself, but This is not something that thought can reach. Therefore, we abandon imaginations, abandon theories, abandon these verbal statements.
GC: Master, our time has come to end. Thank you for this videocast. And you who are watching the video, leave a “like,” leave a comment, put your questions in the comment so that we can bring them to the next videocasts. And, mainly: here in the first pinned comment, there will be the link to the information group about the meetings, both online and in person, with Master Gualberto, which are the meetings called Satsangs, where the Master leads us, in this sharing of Consciousness, to a deep investigation into all this madness of being someone, about all this insane movement of thought, of which we are not aware of on a daily basis, but, in Satsang, this is revealed by Grace, by this sharing of Consciousness of the Master. So, here's the invitation. And gratitude, Master, for this meeting.
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